The widespread use of ram air charged fuel systems in the automotive industry, coupled with the continuing need to provide lighter and more efficient devices, has occasioned the development of new designs and configurations useful as heat exchanger header tanks and interface ducts for ram air charge handling in automotive systems.
In a typical ram air charged fuel system used within the automotive industry, ambient air is compressed, directed under elevated pressure through or over a heat exchanger wherein it is heated or cooled to a desirable temperature, and thereafter collected and directed to the carburetor, injection system or the like for introduction into the automotive engine.
Early ram air charged systems, still in widespread use in automotive systems, typically comprise elaborate air transmission systems in which compressed, heated air is directed to a continuous serpentine configured tube through which air can flow. The serpentine tube may have plates or fins, introduced in contact therewith to provide increased energy exchange surface areas. A cooling medium, such as ambient air, is passed over the serpentine tube and plates or fins, thus allowing energy exchange from the heated compressed air in the tube to the cooling medium. The thus cooled, compressed air is thereafter directed to the carburetor or injection system for introduction to the automotive engine.
In recent years, improved heat exchangers have been developed which comprise parallel, spaced input and output header structures interconnected by multiple parallel energy exchange tubes to allow flow of fluid, e.g. gaseous and/or liquid, between the headers. The multiple tubes are typically rounded or rectangular in configuration and have plate or convoluted fins disposed across or between the tubes to increase the heat exchange efficiency of the energy exchange tubes. The device is typically formed by inserting the multiple tubes into holes in the header structures, placing convoluted fins between the tubes, and welding or brazing the tubes to the headers.
It is an object of this invention to provide an output header tank and interface duct for use with a heat exchanger in ram air charged, energy exchange systems, having efficient ram air charged flow therethrough.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a new output header tank and ducting system for the transmission of ram charged air within an automotive environment.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by the invention described as follows.